I began my journey flying out of Philadelphia to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I stayed overnight there for 1 night & caught a train the next day at noon. The train ride to Churchill is 2 days. Needless to say, you make some friends along the way!
We stopped at several places, The Pas, Thompson, Gilliam, Dauphin, to pick up & drop off people whom were not all going the entire way, but this seems to be the best means of transport between these towns & or villages. We spent a few hours in Thompson & were able to get off the train & walk to town. (this image is from the depot in Thompson)
The train went through fields of golden grasses, the Boreal Forest & then the Tiaga.
Upon arriving in Churchill, I caught a taxi with a couple I had meant on the train that were staying at the Blue Sky Bed & Sled as well.
www.http://blueskymush.comWe were greeted by Miranda, from Hong Kong & Carys, from Whales, two of the delightful volunteers that work here, & escorted to our rooms upstairs. Shortly there after, our host, Jenafor Azure, came home from errands & gave us information on the house, a map, & told us of our gifts from them to us! She then asked if I had wanted to go to the dog sledding area as they had a dog sledding tour at 1:00. I went with her to pick up the guest & then off to the dog sledding area. There I met Gerald, Jenafor's husband, our other host. I had scheduled a dog sledding adventure for the following day, but as it ended up, I was there so I joined in for the fun then. Gerald gave us information on dog sledding, how they called their demands & such & then we went out for an adventure of a lifetime! There hasn't been any snow to speak of, so Gerald took us out on a sled he has designed that runs on wheels. You really can't tell the difference! We went around a loop a couple of times & then back to the yard. It was amazing! After that I went to dinner with the other dog sledding guest. We ate, drank wine & had an evening of great conversation!
Next morning Gerald took me out for sunrise & then on to the grain dump.
There are alot of polar bears hang out there.
We drove around for parts of the day scouting for more bears, viewing the incredible landscape & eventually ended at the marina with the dogs for sunset.
Thursday was my scheduled day for my Tundra Buggy tour. A bus collected me at 8am & we then set off to the Tundra Buggy launch site. We seen 5 bears, including a mother with 2 cubs along the way.
The Tundra Buggy was filled with about 30 of us & is like a school bus / tank with approximatley 4 feet between the 2 rows of seating, has a heating element like a fireplace of sorts & a viewing deck on the back so we can go out & photograph from there.
We drove over the Tiaga & the Tundra & at times seems as if we would roll over, but these vechicles are specifically made for travel on this area.
We had seen polar bears & artic fox.
I rented an old ford pick up truck yesterday & went on my own for awhile. I then had made plans the night before to meet up with a friend, Jodi, from the train in town. She had let me know about a bear lift / drop that was going on at the bear jail at 1:00. These are bears that have repeated offenses in town, are jailed in "bear jail"for a short time, tagged & then air lifted to a safer area further up north.
We then traveled as far as the road would take us up to the Research Center. I had met a gentleman the night before at a culture talk that our hosts, Gerald & Jenafor had given at their tent where the dog sledding is held, & he had invited us to go along on a lecture that was about to begin of the missel launch area out there.
My time here has seem to have passed way to quickly. I have made some awesome new friends & Gerald & Jenafor have treated me like family they have not seen in along time. They could not have taken better care of me. I already have plans for my return in the summer to see the beluga whales.
Tonight I board the train again for another 2 days into Winnipeg. I'll stay for 1 night, then back to the airport for my return home.
If you ever get the itch to come north, come & see Gerald & Jenafor, you won't go wrong! Jenafor will make you an incredible breakfast to last you for the day & stear you in the right direction for all of what Churchill has to offer as it is not just all about polar bears here!
